By Daily Sun Staff
Flagstaff’s most visited tourist attraction — its downtown — could be under new management soon.
A majority of downtow
n property owners have signed petitions asking the city council to form a new improvement taxation district.
The district, if approved, would turn over management of such thorny issues as parking and public events from the council and city staff to a board representing the downtown landlords and their tenants.
In a staff report to the council prior to tonight’s meeting at City Hall, the downtown was described as Flagstaff’s most visited destination — about 70 percent of the city’s 4 million annual visitors find their way downtown at some point in their stay. It generates 7.5 percent of all city sales taxes and 15 percent of the BBB taxes.
It also has a total assessed value nearly as great as that of all the principal taxpayers in the city combined.
But as the downtown has become a more popular destination, it has remained under what the report calls “ad hoc” management, with no single city department overseeing its programs and needs.
That has led to conflicts between city officials and local business owners over street closures for parades, parking regulations and enforcement, and the booking of events for Heritage Square.
The staff report cites other cities such as Tempe and Scottsdale that have resolved such conflicts with the formation of downtown improvement districts. Flagstaff, according to the report, has been considering a similar arrangement for the past eight years.
“Staff believes that forming this district introduces equity to the partnership by defining roles, responsibilities, and expectations and sets the stage for a stronger partnership from here forward,” according to the report by Karl Eberhard, community design and redevelopment manager. “How better to effectively govern than to collaboratively vision and develop solutions, and to partner with stakeholders?”
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